"The reason for the rise of Islamophobia in some European countries is that this thinking spreads from the top down. This means that Islamophobic thinking is indoctrinated into society through the government," Deputy Chairman of the State Committee on Religious Associations of the Republic of Azerbaijan Gunduz Ismayilov said during a panel discussion at the international scientific conference on “Embracing Diversity: Tackling Islamophobia in 2024”, Paralel.Az reports.

"For example, in 2019, in France, the number of discrimination cases against Muslims in state-owned service establishments was 369, while this figure was 197 in the private sector. What does this mean? In general, there are specific statistics on Islamophobia in European countries such as France, Germany, England, and Switzerland. For example, there are 2500 mosques in France. The absolute majority of these mosques consist of one room. Local Muslims do not have enough budget to build bigger mosques. And the state prevents receiving help from outside. They perceive this as converting France to Islam. Or the issue of Muslim clothing is a serious problem in France. In France, 80% of Islamophobic thinking is directed at women. The Muslims are also prevented from receiving religious education. This is the case both in France and in a number of European countries," he added.